What started out as a neutral design quickly went pink. Yes, PINK. I never considered myself a super girly girl, or think I’d design with that tone. Don’t get me wrong, I love to get dressed up, I never leave the house without makeup and I always strive for beauty in all things I do, but I was certainly not a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world. I am… “A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll,” with a full helping of eclectic. When we furnished our first rental together we stuck with industrial, rustic with a bit of farm house. Which as most of you would agree, that generally leans more heavily on masculine décor. My designs are almost never overly feminine. But something just took over me. And what a fun way to let my creative juices flow.
My husband left for deployment with the impression that he was coming back to our future daughter’s room 
being a beautiful mix of greys… boy was he wrong. Flash forward a few months to the first time I stepped foot into a baby store and the rest is history. I went home that evening with an exciting assortment of pink, pink and more pink and the most feminine bed I could find {it’s gorgeous by the way}. When I shared the news with my hubby he couldn’t help but laugh. If you guys know my husband at all, he is quite the manly man {motorcycles, trucks, hunting, fishing, building and just about anything, man} but with an adorable hint of sarcasm he said “happy wife, happy life.” And with that I made my designer dream nursery a reality. I have to say, he actually really loved it too, we both did. Despite all the pink and fluff it was really a beautiful place to raise our baby girl for the first year of her life. It never seemed overdone or too pink. It was the perfect mix of feminine whimsy… and here are my secrets why!
When designing a room, to keep things one-of-a-kind, I never go with a full line. I mix and match from many different spectrums to keep things interesting. Antiques ALWAYS make for great additions, and restoring old furniture is a great way to keep costs down and décor spirits high. All the other tchotchke bits are meticulously picked without rush throughout the process. To this day I am still gathering items… a designers work is never done. But, with a budget in mind and allowing yourself to source from different outlets, you give yourself the opportunity to dream big without breaking the bank.
I started with the theme first, Enchanted Forest. What little girl wouldn’t love unicorns, pixies and woodland creatures? Then the color pallet, and from here I was able to grow my inspiration. I started first, by picking out my staple piece {the bed} and was able to work my way around the room from there. I wanted my design to trigger the words, delight, and whimsy, playful, yet calming and dreamy and with that I was able to search for décor. I think it is important to have a clear and concise vision and expectations of a design plan before diving in. Otherwise, those adorable baby isles can become a bit distracting and overwhelming. Trust me, I had to reel myself back in a few times to decide whether or not items matched my vision or were just going to become clutter. I wanted our daughter to have a place that sparked daydreams and make believe, not a zoo.
A few of my favorite pieces that made this vision come to life were her beautiful pearl blush convertible crib. This crib is really a show stopper and it grows all the way into in a full. Well worth the ticket since we will be able to keep her in it until she is in her double digits. Secondly, and probably one of my favorite additions was her mobile.
I scoured Etsy to find the perfect design, hoping to inspire visons of fairytale.
Her mobile was handmade, rows and rows of paper cut butterflies dancing in a circle, and it really added that delicateness of femininity I had been striving for. Thirdly, I had purchased an antique sewing table, all original, from a flea market. It was in wonderful condition, had a beautiful dark finish and floral knobs. It still works but we turned it into her bedside table to add a bit of timeless history to her décor. Another was the birch wood wall decals. Now these are a huge hassle so if you are interested in them just know you are fair warned but they really do add so much. We had painted the room a pale sand color which had just a hint of pink, and the decals we chose were white. It was the most subtle addition but it made such an interesting design choice. 
Lastly, was adding a sheep skin rug to the design. We had hard wood and I really wanted to incorporate a soft and comfy place for her to play and enjoy her space. Animal fur, if used in the right setting, can be really feminine too. It’s abstract shape added interest, height, texture and gave her forest the enchanting it needed to pull the whole room together.
Now we have moved and had to say goodbye to her dreamy den, but I look forward to the opportunity to reinvision the Enchanted Forest in our next dwelling. Stay tuned.
I would love your feedback and if you have any questions at all about what you see, where we got it or how to create it, please send them my way. I would love to help you create your dream space.
Décor extras
Rocking Chair {original no longer available}
To get ‘The Look,’ find all the items HERE